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Thursday, March 22, 2007

We have had a busy last few weeks, but it has been so much fun. The first weekend in March my oldest brother Mark's family came for a visit. This includes his wife Janie(my running partner:) and their 5 daughters. It was so wonderful to have family here. We all bunked in our 800 sq. ft. apartment and had a blast. The kids had a great time with their cousins. Nine kids and not an arguement all weekend. They miss each other (we used to live less than a mile from each other in Wisconsin) Above is a picture of all of us at the top of Luther Tower here at the Seminary. Friday night we watched Facing the Giants. If you haven't seen it, it is a great family friendly movie, such an inspiration. It will challenge your faith and motivate you to Face all of your giants. We love company, so we appreciated them driving through a snow storm to come and see us :)

Then less than a week later Greg's parents drove up from Texas and Greg's cousin and my friend Ryane Ganze from Texas. She is one of Elijah's Godmothers. (along with Leah my niece, 2nd from the left on the bottom row in the 2nd picture above) JoJo got to see both of his sponsors in one month, YEAH! We had a wonderful week. It was great having some company as we celebrated Jojo's 2nd birthday on the 13th. I can't believe our little guy is 2 already. We spent a beautiful day at the zoo and went up the arch too. It is always special for the kids to spend time with either Grandma and Grandpa so it was time to treasure. Ryane and I loved running around Forest Park together each day. It was fun showing both families some of our life here at the sem.

As of today we had 3 out of the 4 kids with the flu. Thankfully Anna and JoJO seem to be on the mend. Louis is definately worse for the wear. We are praying that the Lord's healing touch will be on him as he sleeps tonight. It was kind of crazy, yesterday they just starting dropping like flies during dinner. Caleb is the only one to ward it off at this point. Time will tell as far as that goes. We continue to be so thankful to God for all He has blessed us with while we have been here at the sem. His provision is amazing.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Well, we actually did it. We have been wanting to create a blog for oh...a year. The funny thing is our 10 year neighbor Carlotta is actually the one who helped me figure it out. I know it isn't that difficult but this girl finds computers a bit challenging at times. We hope to be able to post information so friends and family can be kept up to date on how life is going for us at the Seminary.

So how has it been going? It has been so much easier and better than we could have anticipated. (The adjustment to life here has been easier, certainly not the classes:)God has been so faithful to provide for us and take care of us. We are so blessed. His mercies are new every morning and we are so grateful. He has provided wonderful friends for the kids and such a loving community for our whole family. It has been a blast so far. We really just want to soak up our time here. Greg is done with 3 quarters of classes and he has 4 more to complete. The time is passing quickly. We really want to glean all we can from mentors here so we can go out prepared for the ministry God has planned for Greg and our family as a whole. It is an an adventure and such an exciting one to be on.

The picture above was taken in Houston last week as we were down visiting Greg's parents and extended family while Greg has a break from classes. It was a treat! Only 3 days left of break and it is back to the books for Greg.... He is actually out with the older boys for icecream right now. It is great for him to get a little alone time with the bigger boys. He has been taking advantage of this bit of free time he has. Yesterday it was a big game of kick ball with 16 neighbor kids:) It is never dull around here... And for that we are thankful.

About Me

I am a stay at home, homeschooling mom to 8 wonderful children. Our 5th child Samuel went from his home in my cozy womb to His Heavenly Fathers arms on October 29th 2008, just 1 day after his due date. We still miss him like crazy everyday.
We have since added our daughter, Hope Jubilee, to our family through domestic adoption, as of August 2010. In March of 2011 we were blessed with the birth of our son Levi, who is a miraculous gift we received through embryo adoption. And we anticipate the finalization of our adoption of Isaiah in early May 2013.
This is not the life we ever anticipated living, but we are in awe of God's plans for our family. We are living life surrendering to the will and plans of our Heavenly Father...
Our life is one filled with great joy as we daily live life, and as we look forward with great anticipation to being united with our Savior and reunited with our son Samuel in Heaven.

Followers

SAMUEL'S NAME IN THE SAND

A FAVORITE PICTURE OF OUR FIRST 5

ME AND MY HONEY

OUR LOUIS

OUR CALEB

OUR ANNA

OUR JOJO

OUR SAMUEL...SAFE IN HEAVEN

Baby Joel safe in Heaven

OUR SWEET BABY GIRL

Levi... our miracle through embryo adoption

Our Isaiah

Please Be Gentle By Jill B. Englar

Please be gentle with me for I am grieving.The sea I swim in is a lonely oneand the shore seems miles away.Waves of despair numb my soulas I struggle through each day.My heart is heavy with sorrow. I want to shout and screamand repeatedly ask 'why?'At times, my grief overwhelms me and I weep bitterly,so great is my loss.Please don’t turn away or tell me to move on with my life.I must embrace my painbefore I can begin to heal.Companion me through tearsand sit with me in loving silence.Honor where I am in my journey,not where you think I should be.Listen patiently to my story,I may need to tell it over and over again.It’s how I begin to graspthe enormity of my loss.Nurture me throughthe weeks and months ahead.Forgive me when I seemdistant and inconsolable.A small flame still burns within my heart,and shared memories may triggerboth laughter and tears.I need your support and understanding.There is no right or wrong way to grieve.I must find my own path.Please, will you walk beside me?

Remembering

RememberingGo ahead and mention my child,The one that died, you know.Don't worry about hurting me further.The depth of my pain doesn't show.Don't worry about making me cry.I'm already crying inside.Help me to healby releasing the tears that I try to hide.I'm hurt when you just keep silent,Pretending he didn't exist.I'd rather you mention my child,Knowing that he has been missed.You asked me how I was doing.I say "pretty good" or "fine".But healing is something ongoingI feel it will take a lifetime.~ Elizabeth Dent ~